Following a gut-wrenching 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers Tuesday night, the Stars host New Jersey at American Airlines Center.
When a team falls victim to a comeback, the trick is to forget about it and start preparing for the next game.
The Dallas Stars will try and put Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers behind them as they face the New Jersey Devils Thursday in the second of a five-game homestand.
The Stars led 3-1 with nine minutes left in the third period, only to see Florida come storming back with three goals, including two on the power play. Dallas was in control the first 40-plus minutes of the game, but couldn't close it out against the NHL's top team.
The last time the Stars and Devils met was January 20 in New Jersey. Dallas was coming off a similar disappointing loss, 5-1 at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers two days before. The Stars took out their frustration by cruising to a 6-2 win over the Devils. Roope Hintz led the way with two goals while Wyatt Johnston, Jason Robertson, Ryan Suter and Thomas Harley tallied two points apiece.
The Devils have added some new faces since their last meeting with Dallas. Travis Green was named interim head coach March 4, replacing Lindy Ruff. They also made several acquisitions before the March 8 trade deadline, including goaltenders Jake Allen (Montreal) and Kaapo Kahkonen (San Jose).
After the Colorado Avalanche eked out a 4-3 overtime victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, they moved into a first-place tie with the Stars in the Central Division, adding even more importance to this game against the Devils. The Winnipeg Jets trail by just two points, making the Central Division race a tight one as the postseason approaches.
New Jersey currently sits in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division (31-30-4, 66 points). Dallas is the second stop of a four-game road trip that will also take them to Arizona and Vegas.
Like many teams this time of year, the Devils are battling numerous injuries to key players, including Jonas Siegenthaler (concussion) and John Marino (upper-body). Siegenthaler suffered his concussion in a 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Monday after an illegal hit by forward Matt Rempe. Siegenthaler is expected to be out for an extended period of time, while Marino is listed as day-to-day.
Things to Watch for:
- Dallas has dominated the Devils of late, going 6-1-1 against them in the last eight games and are 6-1-3 in the last 10 home matchups against them.
- In 26 career games against New Jersey, Joe Pavelski leads the team with 26 points (14-12-26).
- Matt Duchene has scored three game-winning goals against the Devils in his career, a team high.
- New Jersey has scored two or more power play goals 11 times this season, seventh-best in the NHL.
- The Devils are one of five teams with 20 or more comeback wins in 2023-24; Dallas leads the NHL with 21 come-from-behind victories.
Projected Lines:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Marchment-Duchene-Steel
Benn-Johnston-Stankoven
Dellandrea-Faksa-Smith
Harley-Heiskanen
Lindell-Tanev
Suter-Hakanpaa
Oettinger
Wedgewood
Seguin Injury Update
Coach Pete DeBoer announced during Thursday's morning skate that forward Tyler Seguin has been skating the past couple of days. He's making progress, but will not play Thursday against the Devils. Next week is on the table for a return to game action, according to DeBoer.
Puck drop against the Devils is 7 Pm, and the game can be viewed on Bally Sports Southwest.
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